Keep It Positive!

Have you ever thought or maybe even said critical things about YOURSELF?  I know that I have… but it kind of came to a head the other day as I was absent-mindedly moving around the kitchen while making an omelet for breakfast.  While I whisked the eggs, graded parmesan & cheddar cheeses, onion flakes, freshly ground black pepper and a dash of turmeric, I replayed in my memory an incident from years past at my job at Agilent Technologies… which did not go as I had originally planned and ended with some negative consequences.

From that remembrance my memory shifted gears and my thoughts switched to some advice that I had given a youth way back in 1977 or so, that I now know better of and realize that I should never have opened my mouth!  Then the condemnation set in for both regrettable incidents and I wallowed in it while I poured the yellow concoction into the frying pan sizzling on the hot stove.

But as I stared a little transfixed at the bubbles that started to pop up as the omelet cooked, I heard that gentle, soft and sweet voice that I’ve become very familiar with over the last ten years saying, “What about all the good things you’ve said and accomplished at your secular jobs as-well-as for those while working in Christian ministry over the years… Why not concentrate on those instead of the negative events?”

Any you know?  As I considered what I would count as the positive things that I’ve accomplished wherever the Lord has put me, I realized that the good most likely far outnumbered the negative.  Wow, He’s got a point there, thank you Lord!

So, as I grabbed the spatula and folded the omelet and then pushed back the liquid that tried to escape across the pan, I began to see how much of the time I think about the not so successful things that I have done rather than being encouraged by the accomplishments which did go well! 

Do you ever find yourself in the same predicament?  With the Lord’s help in the kitchen the other day, I think that I am beginning to see some things in a new light… in particular, that it is a lot easier to dwell on the negative in your life than the positive!  I also am starting to understand that when we think on the failures of our past that the enemy of our souls is right there and more than willing to stir up the flames of self-condemnation.

One lesson that both Piper and I learned many years ago though, was that so-called bad things don’t always happen to you because you’ve done something wrong or made an incorrect decision or followed a course of action that was not the right one!  Sometimes negative things happen because you followed the RIGHT course of action, trusted the Lord and stepped out with Him in the face of the open and condemning skepticism of others around you.

Recently I was reading to Piper from a book that contains a compilation of sermons by Smith Wigglesworth that spanned the time of his worldwide ministry from the mid-nineteen twenties into the early 1940’s.*  In the course of one of these sermons first given in Sweden, I believe, the evangelist quoted from a portion of Jesus’ parable of the Sower and the Word in Luke 6:47-48.

A couple of truths struck me strongly as we read: “Everyone who comes to me, and hears my words, and does them, I will show you who he is like. He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.” (World English Bible, KJV) 

First of all, the main principle of this section of scripture is predicated on the man or women who “hears” the Word of God and then puts it into action in his or her life.  Again we find out that the word “hears” is our old friend listed as G191 in Strong’s and Thayer’s Greek and Hebrew dictionaries, and it speaks of the one “who understands or perceives the sense of what is being said”  So therefore it describes a person who has spiritually discerned the Word and has taken the time and consistent effort to make it to become a part of who they are in their daily lives.

Secondly you can’t help but noticed that Jesus made the point to talk about what happens after the above is accomplished.  Once the house is strongly built He calmly continued with what we can expect next declaring, “and WHEN the flood arose…”   Yikes, you mean that even though we’ve done everything right, followed through and went to great lengths to obey the Lord, that we are still going to get hit with a storm? YES!  But it will be a gentle quick storm, right?  Well… simply said: NO!  In fact, if you read on you’ll see that sometimes the storms of life will be a real "Nor'easter" as they describe the macro-scale cyclones that we occasionally get out here on the East Coast of America.  The King James Version says that “the stream beat vehemently upon that house…”

BUT… it continues with the encouraging promise that although the storms of life can be very difficult, the end result for those who faithfully trust in Him is that they won’t  be shaken down to destruction for “it was (or our lives are) founded upon a rock.” 

You see the enemy of our souls doesn’t like it one bit when we step out and do things for God, and he’ll do any and everything he can to get us to give up and doubt God, or even turn our back on Him.  That’s why the devil loves it when we start listening to negative thoughts about our past, present or even into our futures!

And you’ll notice that he especially likes to push the negative thoughts when we are down and/or facing an especially rough life-challenge.  I’ve already told of many of the seemingly innumerable attacks that came against Piper and I during the early years of our battle against this disease that has attacked my wife.  It felt like everything that was near and dear to us was open game for the enemy.  But I am sooo thankful that He prevailed in us… the personal “hearing” or understanding and doing of the Word is the best defense against the propagation of lies flowing from the mouth of the devourer.

So, what will it be?  Will you yield to the negative thoughts about your past actions, words or feelings, or open yourself up to the positive you’ve accomplished in your life and the vibrant future that lies ahead of you as you faithfully hook your personal faith to the truth and power of God and His Word?  Okay… Okay… the answer is really obvious, but hopefully it gets you thinking this weekend!

And speaking of weekends… have a great one, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “What positive thoughts based on the truth of God and His Word am I going to dwell on today?”

*Smith Wigglesworth, On Prayer, Power, and Miracles, compiled by Roberts Liardon, copyright 2005, Destiny Image Publishers, Inc.